Electric battery



(No Model.)

J. A. BARRETT. ELECTRIC BATTERY.

No. 403,451. Patented May 14,- 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. BARRETT, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE JOHN A. BARRETT BATTERY COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

ELECTRIC BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,451, dated May 14, 1889.

Application filed February 8, 1888- Serial No. 263,353. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. BARRETT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Electric Battery, of which the following is a specification My invention relates to those forms of chloride-of-silver battery in which the batterywire or conductor, consisting of a wire or conductor of silver or other suitable material, is connected to amass of fused chloride of silver.

In a battery of this nature the initial internal resistance-is high, owing to the fact that the action is confined to the point of contact between the exposed portion of the batterywire or conductor and the mass of the chloride of silver. The resistance greatly decreases as the reduction of the chloride of silver progresses from the initial point; but the effect is obviously to cause a variation of the internal resistance in addition to the objectionable high internal resistance at the start.

The object of my invention is to overcome this difficulty; and it consists, essentially, in the combination, with a mass of fused chloride, of a conductor in a subdivided or openwork form applied to the surface thereof in any suitable way and connected with the battery-wire or conductor.

The surface-conductor may be applied in any desired manner, either mechanically or by chemical deposition.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a battery-wire and attached mass of fused chloride of silver provided with the connection forming my invention. Fig. 2 illustrates another form of my invention. Fig. 3 shows another modification.

Referring to Fig. l, B indicates the wire of silver or other good conducting material, which is connected in any usual Way with the fused mass of chloride of silver A. In the present case the chloride is shown fused around the battery-wire.

indicates a conductor formed, preferably, of a wire of silver which is wrapped spirally around the mass of chloride, and is connected at one or both ends with the battery-wire.

By this device the points of initial action of the battery are largely increased, being disposed over the surface of the mass of the chloride of silver, and the initial resistance is low. The external conductor might be applied in other ways and might be aconductor of other shapes than that illustrated in the fi ure.

It is obvious that to effectually carry out my invention the external conductor in contact or connection with the battery-wire must be a subdivided conductor or in open-work form in order to expose the chloride of silver and the conductor-envelope or external conductor at a number of points of contact to the action of the battery-liquid. One way of forming the exterior subdivided conductor chemically is by dipping the mass of the chloride of silver into a nitric acid, giving to said chloride a coating of nitrate of silver, after which the object is dipped into pyrogallic acid to reduce the nitrate to silver in the form of a film. Another way would be by dusting the fused chloride over with powdered metallic zinc, which on exposure to the air would be reduced to chloride of zinc, leaving a corresponding proportion of silver reduced on the surface of the chloride, so as to form the external conductor of my invention. The film must not be so thick or continuous as to cover up the surface of the chloride of silver completely, but should be of a spongy or porous coat. By this means an extended conducting-surface is obtained in connection 8 5 with the conductor-wire B, embedded in the mass of the chloride. This form is indicated in Fig. 2.

Another form of the invention is indicated in Fig. 3. Here the external conductor con- 9 stitutes a cage or basket-work in the form of a spiral which is a continuation of or is attached to the battery-wire, the latter not being embedded in the fused chloride.

My invention may obviously take other forms, and the subdivided conducting-jacket might be applied in any other way, without departing from the principle of the invention herein set forth and claimed.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a chloride-of-silver battery, the combination, with a mass of fused chloride of silver having a conductor-wire embedded Signed at New York, in the county of New therein, of a conductor applied to the surface York and State of New York, this 10th day of such mass and electrically connected with of January, A. D. 1888. the embedded conductor.

e 5 2. The combination, with the battery-wire JOHN A. BARRETT.

B and a mass of fused chloride of silver in V which said Wire is embedded, of an external WVitnesses: v conductor applied to the surface of the mass WM. H. OAPEL, of chloride and connected With the embedded HUGO KOELKER.

1o conductor, as and for the purpose described. 

